Customize a Web Part Page

If you are a site owner or administrator, you can customize your Web Part Page in a variety of ways, such as editing the Web Part Page title bar, adding Web Parts, customizing the views of List View Web Parts, and changing the layout of the Web Part Page. After you add Web Parts to your Web Part Page, you can connect Web Parts to create even more custom solutions for your page. Find links to more information about connecting Web Parts in the See Also section. If you have a Web design program that is compatible with Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services, such as Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007, you can further customize the layout of your Web Part Page. For more information about using Office SharePoint Designer 2007 to edit a Web Part Page, see Office SharePoint Designer 2007 Help.

Create a personal view or restore the shared view of a Web Part Page

You are in a shared view by default when you view a site or page. Any changes that you make to the page while you are in the shared view are visible to anyone who visits the page. If you create a personal view of a page, the changes that you make to that page are visible only to you.

Create a personal view

At the top of the page, click Welcome Your Name, and then click Personalize this Page.

Make whatever changes you want to customize the page. You can add or remove Web Parts, as well as modify the properties of other Web Parts on the page, customize the views for any List View Web Parts on the page, and customize the properties of other Web Parts on the page.

Note: You can close Web Parts in a personal view, but you cannot delete Web Parts from the page.

When you finish, click Exit Edit Mode.

Restore the shared view

You can delete the personalized changes that you made to a Web Part Page and revert to the current shared property values for the Web Parts on the page.

The Reset Page Content command permanently deletes the personalized Web Part property values and permanently deletes any personalized Web Parts. If you want to create another personal view, you must make your customizations again.

At the top of the page, click Welcome Your Name, and then click Reset Page Content.

When you are prompted to confirm that you want to reset the page content, click OK.

Note: The Reset Page Content command is visible only in personal view and if you previously personalized the Web Part Page.

Edit the Web Part Page title bar

The title bar of a Web Part Page contains a title, caption, description, and image. An administrator or a user with sufficient permissions to modify a Web Part Page for all users can add, modify, or remove these items. The title, caption, description, and image are optional and can be changed for all users who share the Web Part Page. However, they cannot be personalized for an individual user.

An administrator can also enable anonymous access to a server running Windows SharePoint Services. When a user visits the Web Part Page, an authentication button automatically appears, and the user must sign in to view the page or to make changes to the Web Part Page.

Note: If the Web Part Page is stored in a document library, you may need to check out the Web Part Page document before making any changes such as adding Web Parts. When you finish, be sure to check the document back in to the library to make the changes visible to all users.

On the Site Actions menu
, click Edit Page.

Click Edit Title Bar Properties.

You can edit any of the following attributes of the title bar in the tool pane: Title, Caption, Description, and Image Link.

Web Part Page Title Bar properties

Note: You cannot view or edit any of these custom properties in a personal view.

Property

Description

Title

The main text heading in the title bar of a Web Part Page. Initially, it is set to a value based on the file name of the page. Because the title is optional, you can change or delete it. There is no limit to the length of the title.

Because a long title occupies considerable space on a Web Part Page, you may want to balance the length of the title bar with the rest of the Web Parts on the page.

Caption

A supplemental description for a Web Part Page. The caption is optional. If it exists, it appears above the title in the title bar of the Web Part Page. The maximum length of a caption is 100 characters.

Description

Supplemental information for the title or caption of a Web Part Page. The description is optional, and if it exists, it appears when you rest your mouse pointer on the title or caption of a Web Part Page. The maximum length of a description is 255 characters.

Image Link

An image such as a company logo, which appears to the left of the Web Part Page title. The image is optional. By default, it is set to a logo that you can delete or replace. An image is displayed at the size in which it is provided. The location of the image file can be specified as either a Web address or a file path. The supported file extensions for image files are .bmp, .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, and .pict.

Authentication Button

A server running Windows SharePoint Services has anonymous access disabled by default and automatically prompts users to sign in before they access the server. Alternatively, an administrator can enable anonymous access and allow users to sign in only when they want to see or specify personal settings for a Web Part Page on the server.

To save your changes and close the tool pane, click OK. To view your changes without closing the tool pane, click Apply.

Add a Web Part

The fastest way to add a Web Part to a Web Part Page is to use the Add Web Parts dialog box. You can use the dialog box to quickly add lists, libraries, and other Web Parts to your Web Part Page. If you are a site administrator, you can add new Web Parts to the list that appears in the Add Web Parts dialog box, and you can create custom groups in which you can display certain Web Parts together in the list.

Note: If the Web Part Page is stored in a document library, you may need to check out the Web Part Page document before making any changes such as adding Web Parts. When you finish, be sure to check the document back in to the library to make the changes visible to all users.

On the Site Actions menu
, click Edit Page.

In the Web Part zone in which you want to add the Web Part, click Add a Web Part.

In the Add Web Parts dialog box, select the check box for the Web Part that you want to add to the page.

Types of Web Parts

Windows SharePoint Services provides several Web Parts that are ready to use with your site. You can use these built-in Web Parts, customize them to suit your needs, or create new Web Parts and upload them for use throughout your site.

Default Web Parts

The following Web Parts are included by default in any site and can be customized to suit the needs of your team. Many of these Web Parts can also be connected to each other to create a variety of unique solutions:

Content Editor Web Part You can use the Content Editor Web Part to add formatted text, tables, hyperlinks, and images to a Web Part Page.

Form Web Part You can use the Form Web Part to connect to and filter a column of data in another Web Part. Both Web Parts must run on the same server.

Image Web Part You can use the Image Web Part to add a picture or graphic to a Web Part Page. To more easily coordinate the image with other Web Parts on the page, you can control the vertical alignment, horizontal alignment, and background color of the image inside the Image Web Part by editing its custom properties in a shared view.

List View Web Part You can use the List View Web Part to display and edit list or library data on your site and to connect to other Web Parts, including other List View Web Parts. Lists are information that you share with team members and often display in tabular format. List views display this information in different ways for different purposes, such as filtering, sorting, or selecting specific columns.

Note: There is no Web Part called List View. When you create a list on your site, a List View Web Part is automatically created and named after the list. For example, if you create a list called Boats, a Web Part called Boats will be available in the Site Name gallery. The Web Part automatically displays the data contained in the list that you created.

Page Viewer Web Part You can use the Page Viewer Web Part to display a Web page, file, or folder on a Web Part Page. You enter a hyperlink, file path, or folder name to link to the content.

Site Users Web Part You can use the Site Users Web Part to display a list of users and groups who have permission to use a site. The Site Users Web Part automatically appears on the home page of a Document Workspace site. You can also add the Site Users Web Part to any Web Part Page.

Note: In sites that are running on Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 and earlier, the Site Users Web Part was called the Members Web Part.

XML Web Part You can use the XML Web Part to display Extensible Markup Language (XML) and apply Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations (XSLT) to the XML before the content is displayed. For example, you might have an XML file that contains a list of boats, prices, and links to images of the boats. You can use the XSLT to transform the data to display a list of boats and prices and make the boat name a hyperlink to display the image in a separate window.

Preconfigured List View Web Parts

The following Web Parts are built into the Windows SharePoint Services team site template and are automatically configured and ready to use on a Web Part Page when you create a new team site. Different combinations of these Web Parts are included when you create a team site or workspace site, depending on which site template you select.

Note: These Web Parts are derived from the List View Web Part and use preconfigured Web Part templates to create their unique layout and design. To add data to these lists, on the Quick Launch, click View All Site Content, and then click Lists. On the All Site Content page, click the name of the list for which you want to add data.

Announcements Use the Announcements Web Part to post news, status, and other short bits of information that you want to share with team members.

Calendar Use the Calendar Web Part to display upcoming events or team schedules.

Links Use the Links Web Part to post hyperlinks to Web pages that interest your team.

Shared Documents Use the Shared Documents Web Part to share files from the default document library with site users.

Tasks Use the Tasks Web Part to assign a task to a member of your team, specify its due date and priority, and indicate its status and progress.

Team Discussion Use the Team Discussion Web Part to provide a forum for talking about topics that interest your team.

Custom Web Parts

By using a programming environment that is compatible with Windows SharePoint Services, such as Microsoft Visual Studio, developers can exploit the full feature set of Microsoft ASP.NET to create custom Web Parts. A Web Part Page is an ASP.NET file (.aspx), and Web Parts are derived from Web Form Controls. To further enhance Web Part Pages, developers can create their own Web Parts that provide new functionality. Developers can also add custom properties to the Web Parts, add custom builders in the tool pane for specialized user interfaces, and connect to other Web Parts by using Web Part connections. For more information about creating and deploying Web Parts, see the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SDK, which is available from the Welcome to the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SDK

You can also use Web Parts that other people or companies have created. You must have appropriate permissions to add a third-party Web Part to your Web Part Page or site. Some Web Parts may need to be deployed directly to the server. If you are unable to add a third-party Web Part to your Web Part Page or site, contact your administrator for assistance.

You can add more than one type of Web Part by selecting additional check boxes for the Web Parts you want to add.

Customize the view of a list or library in a Web Part

After you add a List View Web Part to a Web Part Page, you can customize the view to show only the information that you want to display on the page. You edit the current view from the Web Part Page.

You can also create custom views of a list or library, which you can use to display different sets of information in different instances of the Web Part for that list or library. You create custom views of a list or library by using the View menu
on the list or library that you want to customize. Find links to more information about creating custom views of a list or library in the See Also section.

On the Site Actions menu
, click Edit Page.

Click the Web Part menu
of the Web Part that you want to customize, and then click Modify Shared Web Part.

In the tool pane, click Edit the current view.

In the Columns section, you can show or hide columns by selecting the appropriate check boxes. Next to the column name, enter the number for the order of your column in the view.

In the Sort section, choose whether and how you want the information to be sorted. You can use two columns for the sort, such as first by author, and then by file name for each author.

In the Filter section, choose whether and how you want to filter the information. A filtered view shows you a smaller selection, such as items created by a specific department or with an Approved status.

In the Group By section, you can group items with the same value in their own section, such as an expandable section for documents by a specific author.

In the Totals section, you can count the number of items in a column, such as the total number of issues. In some cases, you can summarize or distill additional information, such as averages.

In the Style section, select the style that you want for the view, such as a shaded list in which every other row is shaded.

If your list or library has folders, you can create a view that doesn't include the folders. This is sometimes called a flat view. To view all your list items at the same level, click Show all items without folders.

If your list or library is large, you can limit how many files can be viewed in the list or library or how many files can be viewed on the same page. In the Item Limit section, select the options that you want.

If you plan to view the list or library on a mobile device, select the options that you want in the Mobile section.

Change the layout of a Web Part Page

You can move Web Parts around on a Web Part Page to place them in any order, in any Web Part zone that you want. When viewing a site in a Web browser, you cannot change the template that you selected when you created the Web Part Page. If you have a Web design program that is compatible with Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services, such as Office SharePoint Designer 2007, you can further change the structure of the Web Part Page.

Note: If the Web Part Page is stored in a document library, you may need to check out the Web Part Page document before making any changes such as adding Web Parts. When you finish, be sure to check the document back in to the library to make the changes visible to all users.